Family

Looking ahead to Memorial Day and planning a road trip this summer has got me excited about feeling the sunshine on my skin! I’m so ready to welcome those long, lazy summer days. Although here in San Francisco, summer = fog, I know that’s not the case for most everywhere else.

I will live vicariously through all of you and plan our summer wardrobe! Dressing in whites is timeless and modern all at the same time. You could go big with the all white t-shirt and jeans for effortless cool, or a simple dress for those warm nights (sigh). Any of these pieces would brighten up even our dreary SF summer.

1. Color sorting with the laundry when it’s thrown into the washer. Young children love colors and sorting, so this is a perfect activity to do with them. As we sort lights from darks, let the kids sort by specific colors as well. You can even play a little eye spy game for colors you see. Then they can toss in a Tide Pods Spring Meadow Laundry Detergent or a Gain Flings Pods Laundry Detergent afterwards. These pods always do a great job getting our soiled clothes clean and fresh smelling again.

2. Kids love spray bottles, so when doing laundry let them spray the stained clothes before throwing them into the washer! They’ll do a way more thorough job than you will, trust me. We love making our own natural stain spray. Mix a bit of water, lemon, hydrogen peroxide, and natural soap into a spray bottle. After spraying, throw in a Downy Unstoppable In Wash Scent Booster before starting your wash for an extra boost of freshness for soiled clothing.

Trip AdvisorMy friend Erica suggests using this site as jumping-off point to get familiar with a new place. You can search “Top Things to Do” for a destination to get an idea of the popular tourist activities to see if any interest you. Also a great resource to double-check a hotel property before booking.

Google FlightsAshley loves using the ‘explore flights’ option, it lets you type in your departure city and see prices for flights to destinations all over the world. A great way to find cheap flights.

Lonely PlanetThe motherlode of travel advice by destination. The site is very well designed, making it easy and quick to browse a location to get the information you need.

Rick Steves GuidebooksIf you’re headed to Europe, trust us and pick up a Rick Steves’ guidebook. Erica and I both recommend him for great advice for daily itineraries, boutique hotels, city walks, museum walk-throughs and history.

Preheat the oven to 350, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cream together almond or sunflower butter and coconut sugar on high for 1 minute, add vanilla and cream for another minute. In another bowl, mix together the oat flour, oats, baking powder, sugar, salt and chocolates. Add half of the milk, then half of the dry ingredients, the rest of the almond milk, and then the rest of the dry ingredients. Don’t over mix, the mixture should resemble a thick cookie dough.

Drop the dough onto the parchment paper and press to make an even layer, probably about 9 x 9 inches and 1/2 inch thick. Cook for about 20-25 minutes until the bottom starts to brown and the edges get golden and cracked. Be sure the middle is cooked by inserting a toothpick which should come out clean when done. Let cool completely in pan, then slide onto a cutting board to cut into bars when completely cool.

The first thing she did was sort through our mail center. She had me remove anything that wasn’t paper to be put away elsewhere. “Nothing else should be here”, she said. All cords and other small electronics found a home in the dining room armoire, and craft supplies went into the desk/art area in the kitchen. Her first tip in organizing mail coming in was simple but what we needed to hear:

1. When mail comes in, immediately open it. Throw anything away that’s not important, and anything you need to address should go in a small container or bin in your mail center. Once a week (she suggests Sunday nights), go through that bin (together if you have a partner) and pay any bills or address any items that need to be addressed. A few things may need to be filed away, but most should be taken care of and tossed right there. There might be things that stay in the bin for a while like invitations, or items you’re unsure about and still unresolved, and that’s fine. You can keep them there and address them again the next week.

With artwork from school and preschool, we already have a pretty good system in place. Every day they comes home with a stack of artwork and schoolwork. I ooh and aww over it for a few minutes, and then we put them in a basket under the mail center (you can see it under here now). Then once month (or when it gets full) we go through with the child together they pick 2 of their favorite pieces to put in their keepsake boxes. The rest gets recycled.

I had twins in 2015 and a singleton in 2017, so I really had a chance to look at what worked (and what was gimmick) with the twins, and what I loved with all three (or changed, once there were three).

I agree 100% on the Gerber onesies! Great for the price and make excellent layers under outfits or PJs.

My all time favorite items (workhorses), though are:1. Wide-mouth, waterproof diaper backpack (lightweight and easy even with a front carrier with baby) the generic ones on Amazon are just perfect and come in many pretty colors. About $35.

2. Baby Bjorn bouncer – no noises, no motors, no batteries, and can be used from birth through toddlerhood. About $150, depending on colorway and sales.

4. Stokke Tripp Trapp. I love that my kiddos could use independent and attractive high chairs, and then sit at the table once they could eat with dishes and utensils, and I love that these chairs will fit them into adulthood. About $250-350, depending on accessories purchased.

Today Jared and I are headed out of town for 10 days (eeek!). We’re first going to a wedding down the coast, and then jumping on a plane from LA to Costa Rica. So excited for some serious r&r. We’ll be taking a posting break on Say Yes this coming week, but see you back here the week after (hopefully rested and a just a tad sun kissed). I’ll be sharing updates on instagram when I can. In the meantime, here are some favorite pieces of content from the Say Yes archives:

Several years ago a close friend was at my house and after seeing what a mess my mail center was, generously offered to help me organize for a couple hours. She shared with me the best + simplest organizing tip that I still use to this day and I’m sharing it in partnership with Charmin Ultra Strong Clean Touch Family Mega Roll today…

Sarah and her family live down the street from the most beautiful nursery and gardens in the San Francisco. This post is sponsored by Dansko’s line of comfy summer sandals and clogs from Zappos, we’re visiting it along with a yummy eatery across the street.

Today we are checking out all the sweetest sun hats and straw hats around for kids. As mom to a couple of fair skinned kids I’m a huge fan of a sun hat, they’re a lifesaver for those long summer days!

We’ve got a few for baby and the rest are for our bigger kids. This beautiful collection was our inspiration and has some great hats for grown ups too. Zara kids has a great collection as well. Here are some of our favorites hats for this summer…